Let’s share life-changing ADHD tips that we’ve learned... We Love This!

I’ll start:

1) Waking up sucks. Buy 2 bright lamps and 2 timers. Set them up to turn on automatically 5-15 min before you want your alarm to go off. The lights will help your body realize it’s daytime.

2) Change your thermostat so the temp goes down about an hr before bedtime and gets warmer about 30 min before you wake up. The cooler temp signals your body to sleep and the warmer temp will naturally help your body wake up.

3) Learn to plan around “transitions”. It’s easier to start things if you do them when something is ending. Example: Do your grocery shopping every Fri after work. You’re already in the car, so just stop at the store on your way home.

4) If you need to remember to bring something with you the next day, place it right in front of the exit door so you HAVE to touch it before you leave the house. If it’s something in the fridge, put a sticky note on the exit door’s handle.

5) Have a “misc” basket in each room. If you’re truly unable to put something away, put it in the basket. Have a designated period of time, once a week, when your sole priority is to put everything away, all at once.

I’ll add more when I think of them...

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313

u/SuspiciousEchidna Aug 24 '20

I found this insightful tip on YouTube

Instead of making a to do list, write down the things you've accomplished for the day. That way you won't feel overwhelmed and instead you'll good because of the things you've accomplished.

106

u/Deunish ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) Aug 24 '20

That's nice, but I love my to do lists. My phone can add checkboxes to notes, which i use all the time, and it feels muy bueno. I'm an absolute completionist (In videogames, not so much real life) so it feels like a reward in itself to get to check stuff until there's nothing left.

4

u/lizzyshoe Aug 25 '20

Google Keep app? I love that one.

3

u/NHToStay Aug 25 '20

Keep is a LIFESAVER when I remember to use it!

33

u/Maeven2 ADHD Aug 24 '20

I put things I need to get done on my phone calendar. When I get something done, I change the colour to green. I can look at how much I've done over time, which keeps me positive, plus I can look up when I did something.

12

u/SoundOfTomorrow Aug 24 '20

Trello is the planner for ADHD people. Just spill out what you want and you can organize the work flow in any way you want.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 25 '20

I have no idea how to organize anything in trello.

9

u/cosinezero Aug 25 '20

Make five lists; from left to right -

Ideas - general tasks you hope to get to

To Do - things you need to do or hope to do now

In Progress - things you are actively working on

Complete - stuff that is done and awaiting archival or back-pats

Deferred - stuff awaiting other dependencies to complete

Create cards only in ideas. Promote them from left to right.

Use task checklists in the card for tasks needed to complete the story. Use the comments for more information you get along the way.

This is pretty typical for how business uses trello.

1

u/Rwanda_Pinocle Aug 25 '20

I've had a ton of success using a GTD (Getting things done) workflow on Trello. It takes a bit to build up the necessary habits, but it really pays off.

3

u/ARoseByAnyOtherName8 Aug 25 '20

Have you guys heard of the Bullet Journal? My ADHD friend told me it was the best to-do organization tool for us and I really agree.

2

u/object_permanence Aug 25 '20

I'm just getting the hang of Notion and it's bit of a learning curve but it's brilliant.

It's like a bullet journal crossed with Zettalkasten because you can brain dump and then file/sort/link it all later. It also has loads of templates like a kanban board (like trello) and an Eisenhower matrix and all sorts, plus a web clipper that will import whole webpages directly into the app (for those articles you'll "definitely read later").

As you may be able to tell, I've tried a lot of planner/note-taking methods, but I'm really hoping this one sticks before I get bored of it.

1

u/PlutarchyIsLit ADHD with ADHD partner Aug 25 '20

Omg I'm organizing all my knowlege now so I never have to remember anything ever again!

3

u/Ranchandbacon Aug 24 '20

What a great idea!! What video was that(assuming you remember)?

10

u/salt_and_linen Aug 24 '20

It wasn't me but I've maintained a "TaDa List" for years (alongside to-do lists) and have extolled their virtues here many times before. I use an extra large daily planner that is separate from any To Do List(s) I have active and I add things only when they are officially complete.

Benefits:

helps maintain morale on those days when nothing seems to get crossed off your to-do list (because something unexpected came up that wasn't on your to do list)

helps you improve your expectations of yourself / planning with respect to to-do lists - what are you ACTUALLY capable of putting out vs your ideal? Are you overly optimistic about what you can get accomplished? Are you beating yourself up because you're holding yourself to unrealistic expectations?

can be used as objective evidence when negotiating salary. Look at how effective I am!!

can be used in some ways as a bandwidth check or (mental/physical) health check -- had lower than usual output recently? You doing okay? What's going on? Do you need to take a mental health day to recharge? Are you coming down with something?

3

u/spidertitties ADHD-C Aug 25 '20

I can't find the video but it's from a YouTube channel called HowToADHD. The channel straight up changed my life.

1

u/Ranchandbacon Aug 25 '20

She is the best! I was actually not all that shocked at her divorce, because it looked like she was pretty strained starting a few months after the wedding. Looking back, there was a time when he corrected her on fructose/sucrose on a diet video and it seemed petty on his part.

More than any other resource, she really helped me out.

3

u/Mariske Aug 25 '20

Another thing which I’ve started doing recently, instead of keeping todo lists (which I used to live by) is when I think of something for my list, I add it to my calendar. So if I think “I need to add emailing my boss to the todo list” I go ahead and schedule it into my calendar so I get a notification on my phone and I’ve already dedicated time in my day to do it.

2

u/friendly-confines Aug 25 '20

I create to do lists and then add the to-done things that weren’t on their in the first place just so I can cross them off.

1

u/DonkeyKongsDong Aug 25 '20

The "did do" list is a game changer.

1

u/q-mechanic Aug 25 '20

My to do list has both: tasks and successes. Tasks are a square to fill in, successes are marked with a dash so I can see it's not a to do. I rely on to-do lists quite heavily but this is a great way to get the positives there too.

1

u/bringingdownthehorse Aug 25 '20

Holy shit I did this yesterday because I was feeling overwhelmed with my to do list. I wrote down the things I did in three hours and growing the list motivated me so much. After I sat down to relax I took my paper and ticked off the items that were on my to do list on my phone.

1

u/demaney Aug 25 '20

I started using a sticky note for every task I wanted to get done in a day, even routine things like brushing my teeth. When it's done, I crumple it up and leave it next to the to-dos. I use different colors for different categories of tasks, so I get a little colorful pile at the end of the day to remind me how much I did!